May 4, 2009, Moscow, Tambov: COMSTAR – United TeleSystems (COMSTAR-UTS, LSE: CMST), the leading supplier of integrated telecommunication solutions in Russia and the CIS, announces that Tambov-Telecom, an affiliated company of STREAM-TV (a member of COMSTAR-UTS), has launched residential and corporate broadband Internet services in Tambov.

To implement the project aimed at deployment of the broadband Internet network in Tambov, FTTB (Fiber-to-the-Building) technology has been selected. Over 21 km of fiber-optic cable has been installed. Based on this technology, the metro transport network is being deployed to reach subscribers’ houses. Inside houses, end users are connected to the broadband Internet based on Ethernet (dedicated line), while TV signals are transmitted over coaxial cable of the existing TV distribution networks.

This network will allow Tambov-Telecom to offer high-speed Internet and value-added services based on broadband technology. During the first stage, 14,000 Tambov households are planned to be covered. The operator will offer to its subscribers both unlimited tariffs and tariffs with prepaid traffic and data speeds of up to 2 Mbps.

Viktor Koresh, COMSTAR-UTS Vice President for Regional Development and Director General of STREAM-TV, notes: “COMSTAR-UTS strategy implies selective upgrading of up to 90% of regional communication networks using FTTB technology over the next few years to provide multiservice Triple Play services (voice, Internet and TV). Launch of new services and broadening the range of services for existing and new users in key cities of COMSTAR-UTS presence is an essential component of our program.”

Dmitry Egorov, Tambov-Telecom Director, adds: “The first subscribers to use the new broadband Internet services will be dwellers of Tambov-4 residential district who live on S. Lazo, Klubnaya, Astrakhanskaya-162 and Michurinskaya streets, as well as dwellers of Moskovsky residential district. I am perfectly sure that our users will appreciate an ideal balance between tariffs and data speeds. One more important factor is a possibility to get a bundle of telecom services from one operator.”

Tambov-Telecom is one of the leading cable TV operators in Tambov. Presently, many Tambov dwellers are subscribers of the company. Nearly all blocks of flats in the central, southern and northern districts of the city and remote areas are equipped with household TV distribution networks, including: Pekhotka, Tambov-4 and many more. Altogether, operator’s network covers about 768 houses (more than 70,000 households).

The existing cable TV system of Tambov-Telecom in Tambov is built based on HFC (Hybrid Fiber Coaxial) technology – it delivers signals over an optical and coaxial network from the head-end to the receiving household equipment, following which signals pass via the coaxial distribution network to subscribers’ TV sets. This system provides Tambov dwellers with an access to 46 Russian and most popular satellite foreign content channels. It also enables watching on-air broadcasts.